This invention relates in general to a system for ejecting a missile from a submarine and, in particular, to a system in which the energy imparted to the missile during ejection may be selected according to the launch depth.
Present missile eject systems are fixed energy systems that provide a pressure pulse to launch a missile in a predictable manner. During submerged launches part of the fixed energy is used to overcome static sea head pressure. Thus the velocity of the missile at exit from the launch tube will vary inversely with the launch depth.
It would be desirable if the missile eject velocity could be varied with launch depth, This would allow the missile eject velocity to be optimized for the launch depth in view of submarine shock protection requirements and missile cavitation constraints. This improvement requires that the eject system be capable of altering the amount of energy imparted to the missile.
It is also desirable that the improved system be compatible with a present missile eject system so that the present system may be modified to be capable of altering the amount of energy imparted to the missile. This requires that changes to the present eject system be minimized and that the modifications be easily installed. The modifications should be reliable and should be easily accessible for maintenance. Since this is a submarine system, space and weight requirements should be minimized.
In a prior fixed energy system, hot gas from a solid propellant rocket motor provides the ejection energy. The hot gas is directed through cooling apparatus in which a cooling liquid (water) is injected into the hot gas through a plurality of injection apertures to reduce the temperature of the gas to prevent premature ignition of the missile propellant.